Method of removing fiber waste from spinning frames



Feb. 25, 1969 R. L. BLACK, JR

METHOD OF REMOVING FIBER WASTE FROM SPINNING FRAMES Sheet or:

Filed Sept. 1, 1965 I, {I I ll!! 1 INVENTQR." ROBERT L. BLACK,JI2..

BYWM w/wL ATTORNEYS Feb. 25, 1969 R. L. BLACK, 1; 3,429,745

METHOD OF REMOVING FIBER WASTE FROMv SPINNING FRAMES Filed Sept. 1, 1965 Sheet 3 of 2 9 mvmon: ROBER L. BLACK,J12..

0 20 40 so so 100 BYM5QZJ MMML PERCENTAGE OF MAX. BLOWER. ma a Opeumq ATTORNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 134 Int. Cl. D01h 11/00 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of removing lint and the like from the interior underframe portion of textile spinning frames arranged in rows in which traveling high velocity, jet-like air streams are directed inwardly from small nozzles of about one inch internal diameter at a velocity within the range of about 9,000 to 17,000 feet per minute toward the lower underframe areas of the spinning frames as the nozzles travel along the sides of the spinning frames.

This invention relates to the art of pneumatically cleaning textile machinery and is particularly concerned with a novel method of cleaning spinning machines by utilizing traveling blowing air streams of very high velocity.

In the textile industry there has been a trend toward higher production and more efiicient use of textile fibers, especially cotton. Due to improvements in fiber preparation techniques there has been a trend toward the use of more lower grades of cotton than in the past. Also, spindle speeds of spinning frames have been increased from about 6,000 rpm. a few years ago up to the present-day speeds of 12,000 rpm. and above. Such increased spindle speeds have greatly increased the windage at the spindles and have greatly increased the amount of fiber waste generated by the spinning frames and the strands being spun. The spinning of lower grade cotton, and/ or the use of cotton whose initial preparation has resulted in a larger percentage of short fibers remaining in the roving, has resulted in greater amounts of short fibers being cast from the yarn and settling on the machines during spinning. Under these conditions the need for cleaning of spinning frames has become more critical and the problem of cleaning has become more difiicult than in the past.

Generally, spinning frames are cleaned by overhead mounted traveling blowing cleaners having flexible tubes depending on each side delivering air toward surfaces to be cleaned. Heretofore, it has been generally assumed in the industry that air stream velocities from the nozzles of such known cleaners of more than about 5,000 feet/ min., could not be employed without interference with or damage to the yarn being spun. While such traveling blowing cleaners have performed quite well, some manual cleaning has continued to be necessary. Furthermore, the higher windage resulting from increased spindle speeds has created a barrier to the full or effective flow of air at conventional velocities from the traveling cleaner nozzles to areas of the spinning machines where lint tends to collect, particularly below the drafting rolls, while at the same time the increased generation of lint has intensified the need for through cleaning. There has therefore been a problem in obtaining adequate cleaning of these areas.

The area below the drafting rolls of a spinning frame include a number of parts which tend to collect fiber Waste or lint due to their configuration, lubrication, and relative inaccessibility. Such parts, which are ditficult to clean, include the ring rails, spindle bearings, builder motion and spindle drive. The builder motion usually comprises builder and rocker arms, weights or springs, lifter rods, and ratchet mechanism, and the spindle drive usually comprises whorls, tapes, a drum or cylinder, tension pulleys, bearings and brackets. These parts are largely positioned in the underframe area between and adjacent the spindle rows. As a result of the increased windage, increase in small fibers being shed as fly or lint, and higher yarn speeds, the force of the traveling air streams utilized heretofore has been inadequate to penetrate the windage areas around the spindles so as to completely dislodge fiber waste from most of the parts in the underframe area and effectively keep these parts in a clean condition.

Such inadequate cleaning requires unnecessary down time or overtime work for manually cleaning these portions of spinning frames at a time which will not interrupt their usual production periods. Accumulations of lint due to insufiicient cleaning results in increased ends down, reduced quality, and increased housekeeping problems.

It will be appreciated that considerable savings can be realized if fiber waste can be removed promptly and effectively from these diificult to reach parts in the underframe area of each machine. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved method of cleaning spinning frames during the operation thereof which comprises automatically and repeatedly moving a plurality of blowing nozzles in predetermined substantially horizontal paths at different levels alongside a row of spinning frames while directing said blowing air streams from the nozzles inwardly toward the underframe area of successive spinning frames at such air flow and velocity as to penerate the windage developed by the spindles and impinge upon, and remove fiber waste from, surfaces in the underframe area without damaging the yarns in process.

I have discovered that in order to properly clean these areas the blowing air streams must have velocities greatly in excess of velocities heretofore used; that is, a nozzle velocity of about 9,000 to 17,000 feet/min, in order to penetrate through the spindle area and clean parts located in the interior area of the lower portion of the frame. I have also discovered that in order for velocities of such magnitude to be used, it is important that the air pressure produced by the blower fan be high and that the blowing nozzles be kept relatively small, yet of suflicient area, so as to develop an air flow having the momentum required to carry and penetrate to the interior of the frame with sufficient force to dislodge particles of fiber waste from machine parts and prevent the accumulation or build-up of lint thereon.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a transverse vertical sectional view through a spinning frame and showing an overhead track-mounted traveling pneumatic cleaner in association therewith;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view of one of the blowing nozzles of the traveling cleaner;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are longitudinal sectional views through two of the nozzles, one being fully open and the other being partially restricted;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the spinning frame of FIGURE 1, showing the blowing tube and nozzles of a traveling cleaner in vertical section, and also illustrating some underframe parts; and

FIGURE 6 is a graphic chart showing how total output air presure P in pounds per square inch and total air flow Q in cubic feet per minute from a blower fan vary ac cording to the total area of the several nozzle openings as a percentage of the maximum blower discharge openmg.

Since the present method is directed to the removal of fiber waste; i.e., fly, lint and other light material, from spinning frames arranged in one or more rows, various relevant components thereof now will 'be briefly described. Referring more specifically to the drawings, one typical spinning frame of a row is shown as comprising a creel with dependent roving packages 11 from which strands 5 pass through drafting rolls 12, thread guides 13, ring travelers and rings 14 to bobbins 15. The stands for drafting rolls 12 are supported on roll beams 16 supported by sampsons 17 and end frame member 20, 21. Ring rails 23 for rings 14 are supported on lifter rods 24 raised and lowered by quadrant arms or levers 25, cross shafts 26, weights 27, sprockets and chains 30, and a builder motion unit 31 including various other components well known in the art. The spindles 35 for the bobbins 15 are journaled in a bolster rail 36 and are driven by tapes 37 engaging bracket-supported tension pulleys 40 and a driven tape drum or cylinder 41 extending longitudinally of the underframe area and mounted in bearings 42. It can be seen that there are numerous components in the underframe area, only some of which are illustrated, upon which fiber waste will readily accumulate unles it is removed manually or by automatic means.

An embodiment of a traveling pneumatic cleaner is shown in FIGURE 1 as suitable means for carrying out the method of this invention. The traveling cleaner of FIGURE 1 is shown as a composite cleaner including a suction floor cleaner combined with a blowing cleaner 51, although the present invention is primarily concerned with the blowing cleaner 51. The blowing cleaner comprises a blowing housing 52 containing a high pressure fan or blowing impeller means 53 driven by a motor 54. Motor 54 is mounted on carriage means 55 which may be propelled along a track 56 by motor 54 or any other suitable or well known propelling means. Track 56 extends over the row or rows of spinning frames.

Suction cleaner 50 may include a suction housing 62 mounted upon housing 52 and containing a suction fan or impeller means 63 for sucking fiber waste upwardly from the floor F through floor-sweeping suction nozzles 64 and tubes, not shown, and through ducts 65 into suction housing 62 to be collected in a suitable collection chamber or chambers 66 connected to the outlet of suction housing 62, as is well known.

The air inlet formed in the bottom wall of the housing 52 of the blowing cleaner 51 is provided with filter means 70 which may be of the rotatable type provided with filter cleaning means 71 in the form of suction and/or blowing nozzles, as shown in my US. Patent No. 3,055,038, and my application Ser. No. 206,940, new Patent No. 3,251,175 for example. Air ducts 75 project from the blower discharge openings at opposite sides of housing 52 and have respectively dependent flexible blowing tubes 76 thereon which may extend to the floor F adjacent opposite sides of the row of spinning frames. Each blowing tube is provided with a plurality of vertically spaced blowing nozzles B1, B2, the nozzles B1, B2 being substantially identical to each other, except that the nozzles B2 for high velocity air streams are fully open throughout their length while the nozzles B1 for lower velocity air streams are restricted at their junctures with each blowing tube 76 as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4.

It will be noted that there is a group of the partially restricted nozzles B1 positioned in the horizontal plane of creel 10 and its bobbins or packages 11 and there is a group of the non-restricted high velocity nozzles B2 positioned substantially in the horizontal planes of roll beams 16, bobbins 15, ring rails 23, bolster rails 36 and other adjacent underframe components in the horizontal planes of bobbins 15, ring rails 23 and bolster rails 36. Nozzles B1 also may be arranged near the bottom of the spinning frames to direct streams of air across the floor. If desired, the blowing air ducts 75 may be provided with blowing nozzles B3, B4 for air streams of relatively low velocity whose outlets are arranged to direct air streams downwardly toward the drafting rolls 12 and the creel 10, respectively.

Referring to FIGURES 3 and 4, it will be observed that the blowing nozzles B1, B2 each comprise an elongate tubular body 80 which may be polygonal, ellipitical or circular in cross-section and which has a cross-sectional area preferably equivalent to about one inch internal diameter (.785 square inch area). As heretofore stated, each nozzle B2 for use where the air stream is to be of high velocity is preferably non-restricted throughout its length, but each nozzle B1 for use where an air stream of lesser velocity is to be used is provided with a thin partition or wall 81 which, as manufactured, would completely close the inner end of the tubular body 80 thereof, but which at installation time is provided with an opening '82 therethrough of substantially less diameter or cross-sectional area than that of the tubular body 80. Air entering a restricted nozzle B1 through opening 82 at high velocity expands into body '80, thereby reducing its velocity.

As heretofore stated, it has been generally assumed in the textile industry that air streams of greater velocity than 5,000 feet per minute, which is about the maximum velocities which have been used heretofore in known traveling cleaners, would cause malfunction of the spinning frames and would, in particular, cause an intolerable increase in ends down and would otherwise materially interfere with the efliciency of the attendants of the spinning frames. I have discovered that by causing the air to be projected in traveling jets of relatively small area toward the various machine parts, particularly the underframe areas, it is now practical to utilize air velocities of more than twice the velocities utilized heretofore; i.e., the velocity of the air streams may now be Within the range of about 9,000 to 17,000 feet per minute according to my invention. Further, I have discovered that air streams flowing at velocities in this range from nozzle openings of relatively small cross-sectional area are needed in order to penetrate the windage developed by bobbins 15 and associated parts rotating at the presentday high speeds of up to 12,000 rpm. and above, and are very effective in cleaning the underframe area of the spinning frames. It is necessary that the velocities and momentum of the air streams emanating from the unrestricted nozzles B2 be such as to impinge upon surfaces as much as about 35 inches from the nozzles B2. The advantage in being able to increase the velocity of the air streams can be appreciated when it is realized that the force of the air against the lint or other material in various parts of the underfra-me area is proportional to the square of the air velocity. Thus, if the velocity is doubled, the force acting on the fiber waste is quadrupled and, if the velocity is tripled, as from 5,000 to 15,000 feet per minute, the force acting on the fiber waste is about nine times as great.

The momentum of an air stream is equal to its mass times its velocity. It is important that the air stream have adequate momentum as it leaves the nozzle to sustain or carry the air from the corresponding nozzle to the particular area from which the fiber waste is to be removed with sufiicient velocity for cleaning at such area. It should be noted that the tubular configuration of the body 80 of each nozzle B1, B2 serves to start each air stream in the desired direction before it is exposed to the atmosphere and thus delays excessive diffusion of the corresponding air stream as it leaves the blowing tube 76 and so that each air stream is effective to remove fiber waste at points displaced substantially from the free ends of the nozzles.

The velocity of the air streams leaving each nozzle Bl-B4 depends upon the air pressure produced in each tube 76 or duct 75 by fan 53 and the total effective crosssectional area of all discharge orifices for such tube or duct represented by the nozzles B1-B4. By way of example, the chart of FIGURE 6 provides a graphic representation of the air pressure curve P and the total air volume flow curve Q as related to the total cross-sectional area of all of the nozzles for a tube or duct expressed as a percentage of the maximum opening and wherein 100% indicates the maximum opening which might be provided for each outlet of the blower. It will be noted that the pressure curve P indicates that under a given pressure capacity of the fan 53, the maximum pressure produced by the fan occurs when the total effective area of all of the nozzle openings represents about to of the maximum blower discharge opening. Thereafter, as the total effective area of the nozzle openings is increased, there is a gradual drop in the pressure produced by the fan so that at about the point at which about 75% of the discharge opening of the fan outlet is open, only about half of the pressure is then available from the fan as compared to that which is available when only 20% of the discharge opening is open. The pressure drop continues with further increases in the total effective area of the nozzle openings. Of course, if the fan discharge opening were entirely open (100%), the pressure produced by the fan would be nil.

The air volume flow curve Q shows that the amount of flow of the air (cubic feet per minute) increases in proportion to increases in the effective area of all of the nozzle openings and at a point at which the effective area of all of the nozzle openings is about 50% of the maximum blower discharge opening, pressure is still very high, thus showing that, when total cross-sectional area of the discharge nozzles B1-B4 is about 50% of the maximum blower discharge opening, both the air flow volume and pressure are relatively high so that the velocity and consequent force of the air st-reams emanat- 0 ing from the unrestricted nozzles B2 also are high.

From the standpoint of efiiciency and economics, that is, using a high pressure fan which is not excessively large and does not require excessive horsepower, I have found that it is preferred to compromise the air pressure and volume flow by keeping within the approximate ranges of pressure and mass defined by the rectangular dotted line area 85 on the chart of FIGURE 6. The air flow through each tube 76 preferably should be within the range of about 350 to 750 cubic feet per minute. On the chart of FIGURE 6, the reference numeral 86 at about of maximum blower discharge opening represents about 350 cubic feet per minute air flow per tube and the numeral 87 at about 75% of maximum blower discharge opening represents about 750 cubic feet per minute air flow per tube. Air flow within this range, for the velocities noted, will produce adequate momentum for cleaning the interior underframe areas.

By way of example in the embodiment shown. the pressure produced by the fan 53 is such that, with a 35% opening as indicated at 88 on the chart of FIGURE 6, the velocity of the air stream emanating from each unrestricted nozzle B2 will be about 17,000 feet per minute. With a 75% opening as indicated at 89 on the chart of FIGURE 6, the velocity of the air stream emanating from each unrestricted nozzle B2 will be about 9,000 feet per minute.

It will be noted that with a given pressure in each tube 76, the velocity of the air escaping from each of the unrestricted nozzles B2 on each tube would be approximately the same. At those areas where it is not desirable to have velocities of this magnitude, nozzles B1 may be utilized, whereby air flow from the restricted opening 82 is diffused outwardly into the larger tubular body 80 reducing its velocity.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. That method of removing lint and the like from the lower and underframe areas of textile spinning frames beneath the drafting area and keeping such areas clean during operation of the spinning frames which comprises producing air under pressure traveling above the row of frames, directing the air downwardly through a tube closely adjacent each side of the row of frames and having a plurality of air outlets, emitting some of the air through a plurality of nozzles in said tubes as high velocity air streams directed inwardly on each side of the lower and underframe areas of the spinning frames below the drafting area in such a manner as to cause the air to penetrate the windage created by rotating spindles on the frames and to remove lint from interior frame and underframe areas of the spinning frames, the velocity of such air streams leaving the nozzles being within the range of about 9,000 feet per minute and 17,000 feet per minute, automatically moving said high velocity air streams along the sides of the spinning frames during operation of the frames with said nozzles being within a distance of about 35 inches from the areas to be cleaned, and automatically repeating such movement at sufficiently frequent intervals during operation of the frames to maintain the lower and underframe areas in a substantially lint-free condition.

2. That method according to claim 1 wherein the total volume of air from all of the outlets of each outlet tube is between 350 and 750 cubic feet per minute.

3. That method according to claim 1 wherein the total internal cross-sectional area of all the air outlets from each tube is within the range of about 35 to 75 of the cross-sectional area of the corresponding tube.

4. That method of removing lint and the like from the lower and underframe areas of textile spinning frames beneath the drafting areas and keeping such areas clean during operation of the spinning frames wherein rotating spindles create windage barriers extending along both sides of the frame, which method comprises producing air under pressure traveling above the row of frames, directing the air downwardly through at least one outlet tube positioned closely adjacent a side of the row of frames and outwardly through a pl-urality of outlets having a total volume of less than 750 cubic feet per minute, emitting some of the air through a plurality of nozzles in said tube as high velocity air streams having a velocity of at least 9,000 feet per minute while directing said high velocity air streams inwardly toward the lower and underframe areas of the spinning frames to penetrate the windage barriers created by the rotating spindles and to remove lint from the interior frame and underframe areas, automatically traveling said high velocity air streams along a side of the spinning frames during operation of the frames with the nozzles for said high velocity air streams being within a distance of about 35 inches from the areas to be cleaned, and automatically repeating such movement at sufliciently frequent intervals during operation of the frame to maintain the lower and underframe areas in a substantially lint-free condition.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,524,797 10/ 1950 Holtzclaw.

2,729,845 l/1956 Miller et al 134-37 2,851,716 9/1958 Becker et al 15-312 2,974,342 3/1961 Fell 15-312.1 3,055,038 9/1962 Black 15-312.! 3,080,598 3/1963 McEachern 15-3121 3,237,236 3/1966 King 15-312 3,304,570 2/1967 Seress et al. 15-312 3,305,184 2/1967 Seress et al 134-37 XR FOREIGN PATENTS l,324,40l 3/1963 France.

MORRIS O. WOLK, Primary Examiner.

I. T. ZATARGA, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

